Why Tennis Channel is more important than ever

Posted: April 1st, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Sports Blog, Tennis | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Well it wasn’t the best of months for tennis in America. First, the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open was on one of ESPN’s many networks, but a lot of fans struggled to find it. And then Sunday, the men’s final of the Sony Open cut off just as Andy Murray and David Ferrer were going into a third-set tiebreaker on CBS because of the start of the Michigan-Florida blowout.

The tennis people don’t want to admit this, but they’re low on the totem pole as far as network executives are concerned. If you’re not a slam, you’ll get shoddy treatment.

But if you were paying attention to Tennis Channel, they continue to do an excellent job giving fans what they want. A really great moment for the Tennis Channel was at the BNP Paribas Open, when the matches went long and Novak Djokovic had to play a match beginning after midnight. Tennis Channel stayed with the coverage and it was fantastic. And you won’t get the cutoff like you had with CBS on Sunday, and you’ll always know where to catch the matches … uninterrupted.

The BNP Paribas Open has a strong desire to be on a network, so they continue to have a contract with ESPN with hopes of getting on ABC. They need to give up on the networks, like many of the views have. If you look at the television landscape in entertainments, very few of the best shows are on network. They are on AMC, or the premium networks. I’m talking about Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Girls, Dexter, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire and Walking Dead. You can build a strong audience and good buzz as all those shows have. As a fan, I never cared about AMC, but once I got hooked on Mad Men and Breaking Bad, it’s become appointment TV.

Hopefully the BNP Paribas Open and Sony Open will take note.

MLB’s Extra Innings free preview begins Monday

Posted: March 31st, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Baseball, Sports Blog, TV/Media | Tags: , , , , , ,
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Major League Baseball’s Extra Innings package that offers up to 80 out-of-market baseball games per week will offer a free preview beginning Monday.

The preview, offered by Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and Verizon FiOS, runs through Sunday, April 7.

MLB Extra Innings will showcase approximately 80 games during the first week. The full package delivers over 2,000 out-of-market baseball game telecasts during the regular season.

The early bird offer for digital customers is $189 (4 installments of $47.25), a $10 savings off of the full-season price if ordered by April 7.  The package will then be available for $199.

Time Warner Cable Desert Cities customers will receive up to 24 games in HD for the first time this season.

On the Time Warner Cable system, Extra Innings is available on channels 938-951 with the HD channels being 936 and 937.

NCAA Tournament: Saturday’s thoughts; Sunday lookahead

Posted: March 31st, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Basketball, NCAA, Sports Blog
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As a journalist friend of mine tweeted after the Wichita State Shockers pulled off the shocker, shocking Ohio State and sending shockwaves through everyone’s bracket – “If you write headlines for a living and use any permutation of the word “shock” tomorrow, I will find you and electrocute you.”

Clearly my friend has his own issues, but there’s really no better word to describe Wichita State making the Final Four than “Shocker.”

They didn’t do it with any flukes either, beating 1-seed Gonzaga and 2-seed Ohio State along the way. Although they were doing a pretty good Jean Van de Velde  impression at the end of the game Saturday, they held on. Kudos.

Syracuse’s fourth consecutive impressive defensive display has me believing they are capable of winning two more and cutting down the nets. The height and length of their guards is so problematic for opposing point guards. I never would have thought the Orange had a chance the way they stumbled down the stretch, but right now they look as good as anyone out there, including Louisville.

On to today’s games:

11:20 a.m. Florida vs. Michigan (CBS): As I switched from watching my No. 3-seeded Michigan State play Duke on Friday night to watch No. 3-seeded Florida play Florida Gulf Coast, I couldn’t help but be reminded that it doesn’t hurt to have a little good fortune on your march toward a title. To make the Elite Eight, the Gators have remarkably played a 14 seed, an 11 seed and a 15 seed. While that certainly helps you get to this point, I think it’s going to hurt the Gators today when they face Michigan, a team that is already battle tested having rallied to beat No. 1 Kansas. Plus, when a team wins a game in miraculous fashion, they usually follow it up with more wins. See Marquette this year. Final score: Michigan 70, Florida 64

2:05 p.m. Duke vs. Louisville (CBS): Blue bloods. Hall of Fame coaches. Great guards. Imposing big men. The only No. 1 seed and the only No. 2 seed remaining in the field face off. The met earlier in the year with Duke winning 76-71, but Louisville was without out their rim-protecting big man Gorgui Dieng. The Cardinals made the Final Four last year, and have shown no signs that they won’t do it again. Final score: Louisville 74, Duke 61.

So if I’m right that would be a Final Four of Louisville vs. Wichita State and Michigan vs. Syracuse. Shocker indeed.

NCAA Tournament: Friday thoughts; Saturday lookahead

Posted: March 30th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Basketball, NCAA, Sports Blog
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Well, it’s officially baseball season for yours truly, as my beloved Michigan State Spartans lost to Duke on Friday. I really thought MSU had all the right pieces to beat Duke, but credit to the Blue Devils. They did the little things necessary to win. Both teams made 20 baskets and shot the same percentage from the field, but Duke shot better from the 3-point line and shot amazingly from the free throw line (24 of 26) to earn the win.

But the tournament goes on, I did correctly pick the other three games including the impressive second-half display by Trey Burke and the Michigan Wolverines who upset Kansas.

There are eight teams left in the field and only one of them is a No. 1 seed. In fact, there are more 3s and 4s than 1s and 2s.

The seed breakdown is: No. 1 (Louisville); No. 2 (Ohio State, Duke); No. 3 (Florida, Marquette); No. 4 (Michigan, Syracuse); No. 9 (Wichita State)

The conference break down is: Big East (3), Big Ten (2), ACC (1), SEC (1), Missouri Valley (1)

Let’s take a look at today’s two games, as we learn who half the Final Four will be:

1:20 p.m. Marquette vs. Syracuse (CBS): They played already once this year with Marquette winning 74-71. The Orange’s famous 2-3 zone won’t be as hard to decipher for the Eagles as it was for Indiana on Thursday, since they are used to it. Marquette has a toughness advantage, but Syracuse gained a lot of confidence offensively with their last victory. I can’t shake Marquette’s first game against Davidson out of my head. Final score: Syracuse 65, Marquette 60

3:55 p.m. Ohio State vs. Wichita State (CBS): The Buckeyes have won each of their last two games on final-possession 3-pointers, and need to establish themselves early in this one to prevent it coming to another nail-biter. Wichita State has been particularly stingy on defense, holding opponents to around 35 percent. The Buckeyes have struggled all year to find a consistent third scorer behind Deshaun Thomas and Aaron Craft, but the emergence of forward LaQuinton Ross has been a revalation, scoring 34 points in the last two games. No last-second 3-pointer necessary today. Final score: Ohio State 68, Wichita State 56.

I went with the two favorites today, do you foresee an upset? If so tell me about in the comment section below.

 

Former 49ers lineman Kwame Harris comes out, but needs to stay out in the public

Posted: March 29th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Football, Sports Blog | Tags: , ,
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I’ve covered sports for 27 years, and when I first started, it was always weird to me that there were no openly gay athletes. Just look at the number of professional football, baseball or basketball players, and no one is gay? I always figured it wouldn’t be long before an active athlete, particularly in one of the major sports, would come out and be open.

Since I first held a job as a sports writer in 1986, attitudes have changed. Some have been out in individual sports, like tennis and recently boxing. Yet through all these years, there are no openly gay and active athlete in the major team sports?

Earlier today, Kwame Harris has come out after playing in the Super Bowl and was outed. I really applaud him for coming out and going public by doing an interview with CNN to talk about it. You hope it will give other athletes the courage to be open.

Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried joined a gay rights sports group Athletes Ally. Faried joined the group in part to honor his two mothers, who married in 2007. I suspect athletes are more like Faried than 49ers and Harris teammate Chris Culliver, who made anti-gay remarks prior to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, I think Culliver’s words have more of an impact than Faried’s actions.

But lets be frank. No athlete has come out while he was an active player in a team sport. This makes it harder for the others who are in the closet. I would suspect that once someone came out, there would be several others who will come out as well. In this community, they need someone to be that leader. I can’t believe no one has stepped forward.

In an ideal world, I would like to see a team pick up Harris so he can come out of retirement and be that leader. He would get a lot of attention and have to deal with a lot of interview requests. He would create a legacy greater than anything he could do on the football field. He could create social change.

Below is the link to the Harris interview. http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/29/former-nfl-player-comes-out/

 

NCAA Tournament: Thursday thoughts; Friday lookahead

Posted: March 28th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Basketball, NCAA, Sports Blog
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Well, on selection Sunday, right before the brackets came out I had made up my mind. I knew what two teams I was going to have face off in my championship game. But alas, the selection committee didn’t help me out putting both of them in the same region. Those two teams were Miami and Indiana. I guess maybe the committee helped me out after all as both of the teams I liked most to cut down the nets lost on Thursday.

I was pretty surprised by all of Thursday’s results, really. The only winner I picked correctly was Ohio State and I thought they would win by more. I picked the favorites Indiana and Miami and then I picked La Salle to upset Wichita State in a close one. Instead they got thumped.

We now know there will be a Big East team in the Final Four as Syracuse and Marquette will meet Saturday to punch a ticket to Atlanta. Ohio State faces Wichita State to declare the West region champ.

Kudos, too, to Arizona for putting up a fantastic fight against Ohio State. Who would have thought LaQuinton Ross would be the hero? I can certainly understand the attention the Arizona defense payed to Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas on that final possession.

Well, let’s see if I can do better than 1 out of 4 with my picks today.

4:15 p.m. Oregon vs. Louisville (CBS): There are a lot of teams in the Sweet 16 that I think Oregon can beat, but Louisville is not one of them. They have shown very little that makes me think they won’t shut down the Oregon guards and create a lot of havoc with their defense. Final score: Louisville 74, Oregon 59

4:37 p.m. Michigan vs. Kansas (TBS): This is an interesting matchup of contrasts. Michigan, led by point guard Trey Burke who I consider to be the best player in college hoops even though it pains me to say as a Michigan State grad, is a guard oriented team. Kansas has talented guards, but it’s their big men, including shot-blocker Jeff Withey that gives them the advantage. If Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Glenn Robinson Jr., (might as well find Grant Hill Jr. and Christian Laettner Jr. to help while you’re at it) can hit jumpers and pull Withey away from the goal, they have a great shot. Final score: Michigan 69, Kansas 64

6:45 p.m. Michigan State vs. Duke (CBS): OK, we all know I am a Spartan, but I do like this matchup for Michigan State. It’s a great game, pitting the two best coaches of the last 15 years. There are plenty of must-see matchups: Duke’s Ryan Kelly vs. Michigan State’s Adreian Payne as tall offensive-minded players who can shoot from the outside; Duke’s Mason Plumlee vs. Michigan State’s Derrick Nix banging on each other down low; and the key matchup Duke sharp-shooter Seth Curry vs. MSU’s talented freshman Gary Harris, a sharp-shooter himself. Duke has the edge on the perimeter. MSU has an edge on the boards. Final score: Michigan State 70, Duke 60

6:57 p.m. Florida Gulf Coast vs. Florida (TBS): When this game tips off, there will be 10 teams still competing for a national title and one of them will be Florida Gulf Coast. Amazing. The important thing for Florida is to take the lead early and not let the Eagles feel like they have a shot. FGCU is going to have fun, that much I know, but the Gators should be patient enough to prevail with some ease. Final score: Florida 78, FGCU 60

Well that’s what I think. What do you think? Please leave a comment. I certainly was wrong a lot on Thursday.  Which picks do I have wrong for Friday?

NCAA Tournament: Picking Thursday’s winners

Posted: March 28th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Basketball, NCAA, Sports Blog | Tags: ,
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Man I hate that long wait from Sunday until Thursday, but alas, it’s Thursday and that means four teams will take another step toward the NCAA championship.

First here are tonight’s games:

4:15 p.m.: Miami vs. Marquette (CBS)

4:47 p.m.: Arizona vs. Ohio State (TBS)

6:45 p.m.: Indiana vs. Syracuse (CBS)

7:17 p.m.: Wichita State vs. La Salle (TBS)

Player to watch tonight: Yogi Ferrell, Indiana point guard. Ferrell, a freshman, plays with a veteran’s poise, and he’s going to need it tonight against Syracuse’s famous 2-3 zone. Ferrell traditionally terrorizes opponents by blowing past the guy guarding him and getting to the rim or distributing the ball, but that doesn’t really work against a zone. His abiblity to be patient, find holes in the zone and still get the ball to his more high-profile teammates will be the Hoosiers’ key to victory. If he cans a couple 3-pointers when the ball gets kicked back to him, that wouldn’t hurt either.

Individual matchup of the night: Arizona’s Nick Johnson vs. Ohio State’s Aaron Craft. This will be a battle to see if either can figure out a way to contribute offensively while being guarded by the other. Both are physical guards whose hallmark is defense. Whoever is winning this battle will tell you who’s winning the game.

Need-to-know stat: The highest-numbered seed to ever make the Elite Eight is 12th seeded Missouri in 2002. That’s bad news for 13th-seeded La Salle which takes on Wichita State tonight. Remember it on Friday, too, as 12th-seeded Oregon and 15th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast hope to make history.

Spoiler alert, I am about to reveal the final scores of tonight’s games. I’d still go ahead and watch them, though.

Miami vs. Marquette: I picked the Hurricanes to win it all, so I’m not going to waver yet, but something about Marquette makes me nervous. Some times those teams that seem like they’re destined to win, end up … well, winning. Marquette needed a miracle to beat Davidson by one in its opener, and another high-tension effort to beat Butler by 2 on Saturday. No more magic. Final score: Miami 66, Marquette 57

Arizona vs. Ohio State: Ohio State needed an escape job to beat Iowa State, while Arizona won both its games by double-digits. Though I wonder if the toughness they’ve seen from Belmont and Harvard will prepare them for the Buckeyes. Some times it’s best not to overthink it, and I’m not sure Arizona has someone equipped to stop Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas. Final score: Ohio State 70, Arizona 59

Indiana vs. Syracuse: I’m having a hard time visualizing what’s going to happen in this game, becasue I can see it going both ways. If the Hoosiers have a tough time solving that zone and aren’t hitting 3-point shots, which can happen to them on occasion, I give the Orange a great shot of winning. But the Hoosiers have an underrated defense and Syracuse has had a few of those offensive clunkers throughout the year, icnluding the last time they played on this court scoring 39 against Georgetown. I think easy baskets will be hard to come by, but the Hoosiers have more players capable of making a one-on-one play. Final score: Indiana 60, Syracuse 53

Wichita State vs. La Salle: The Shockers were impressive in taking down No. 1 seed Gonzaga. La Salle has impressively made the Sweet 16 all the way from the play-in game. As I said above, No. 13 seed has ever made the elite eight, but that’s usually because they are facing a No. 1 seed if they make it this far. La Salle’s four guard lineup will be different from the interior-focused teams Wichita State has beaten (Pittsburgh, Gonzaga). This is a coin flip. Final score:  La Salle 70, Wichita State 67

Enjoy the games and check back to this blog at mydesert.com for a look back at Thursday’s game and a lookahead to Friday’s action.

 

FOX Sports West to air 150 Los Angeles Angels games

Posted: March 26th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Baseball, Sports Blog, TV/Media | Tags: , , ,
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FOX Sports West will televise approximately 150 Los Angeles Angels baseball games during the 2013 season.

Regular season coverage begins on Opening Day, at 12:30 p.m. Monday from Cincinnati with a half-hour “Angels Live” pre-game show.

Victor Rojas enters his fourth season calling play-by-play for the Angels alongside Mark Gubicza, who enters his sixth season offering color commentary.

In addition, “Angels Live” pre- and post-game shows return, surrounding every home and road Angels telecast this season on FOX Sports West. The half-hour program will feature Michael Eaves as host, while Jose Mota and Tim Salmon offer analysis and Jaime Maggio delivers player interviews and reports.

Complementing live game telecasts, “Angels Weekly” returns with exclusive content and insider access surrounding the Angels organization. Hosted by Alex Curry, a new half-hour program will air every Friday throughout the regular season, immediately following “Angels Live” post-game coverage.

To preview the upcoming season, Curry hosts “Angels Weekly: Season Preview” which debuts this Thursday at 6 p.m. on Prime Ticket, followed by encore presentation at 10:30 p.m. The hour-long program will offer an inside look at spring training, one-on-one interviews with Mike Scioscia and Jerry Dipoto, and analysis from Rojas and Gubicza.

Here’s the complete broadcast schedule:

April
Monday, April 1 @Cincinnati 1:10 PM FS-W
Wednesday, April 3 @Cincinnati 4:10 PM FS-W
Thursday, April 4 @Cincinnati 9:35 AM FS-W, MLBN
Friday, April 5 @Texas 11:05 AM FS-W
Saturday, April 6 @Texas 1:05 PM FOX
Sunday, April 7 @Texas 5:05 PM ESPN2
Tuesday, April 9 vs. Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W ESPN Radio
Wednesday, April 10 vs. Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, April 11 vs. Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, April 12 vs. Houston 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, April 13 vs. Houston 6:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, April 14 vs. Houston 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, April 15 @Minnesota 5:10 PM FS-W
Tuesday, April 16 @Minnesota 5:10 PM FS-W
Wednesday, April 17 @Minnesota 5:10 PM FS-W
Friday, April 19 vs. Detroit 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, April 20 vs. Detroit 12:05 PM FOX
Sunday, April 21 vs. Detroit 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, April 22 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, April 23 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, April 24 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, April 25 @Seattle 7:10 PM FS-W
Friday, April 26 @Seattle 7:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, April 27 @Seattle 6:10 PM FS-W
Sunday, April 28 @Seattle 1:10 PM FS-W
Monday, April 29 @Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, April 30 @Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W

May
Wednesday, May 1 @Oakland 12:35 PM FS-W
Thursday, May 2 vs. Baltimore 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, May 3 vs. Baltimore 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, May 4 vs. Baltimore 1:05 PM FOX
Sunday, May 5 vs. Baltimore 12:35 PM FS-W
Tuesday, May 7 @Houston 5:10 PM FS-W
Wednesday, May 8 @Houston 5:10 PM FS-W
Thursday, May 9 @Houston 5:10 PM FS-W
Friday, May 10 @Chi White Sox 5:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, May 11 @Chi White Sox 4:10 PM FS-W
Sunday, May 12 @Chi White Sox 5:05 PM ESPN
Monday, May 13 vs. Kansas City 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, May 14 vs. Kansas City 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, May 15 vs. Kansas City 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, May 17 vs. Chi White Sox 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, May 18 vs. Chi White Sox 1:05 PM FOX
Sunday, May 19 vs. Chi White Sox 12:35 PM FS-W
Tuesday, May 21 vs. Seattle 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, May 22 vs. Seattle 4:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, May 23 @Kansas City 5:10 PM FS-W
Friday, May 24 @Kansas City 5:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, May 25 @Kansas City 11:10 AM FS-W
Sunday, May 26 @Kansas City 11:10 AM FS-W
Monday, May 27 @LA Dodgers 5:10 PM FS-W
Tuesday, May 28 @LA Dodgers 7:10 PM FS-W
Wednesday, May 29 vs. LA Dodgers 7:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, May 30 vs. LA Dodgers 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, May 31 vs. Houston 7:05 PM FS-W

June
Saturday, June 1 vs. Houston 7:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, June 2 vs. Houston 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, June 3 vs. Houston 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, June 4 vs. Chi Cubs 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, June 5 vs. Chi Cubs 4:05 PM FS-W
Friday, June 7 @Boston 4:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, June 8 @Boston 4:15 PM FOX
Sunday, June 9 @Boston 10:35 AM FS-W
Monday, June 10 @Baltimore 4:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, June 11 @Baltimore 4:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, June 12 @Baltimore 9:35 AM FS-W
Friday, June 14 vs. NY Yankees 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, June 15 vs. NY Yankees 4:15 PM FOX
Monday, June 17 vs. Seattle 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, June 18 vs. Seattle 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, June 19 vs. Seattle 7:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, June 20 vs. Seattle 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, June 21 vs. Pittsburgh 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, June 22 vs. Pittsburgh 7:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, June 23 vs. Pittsburgh 12:35 PM FS-W
Tuesday, June 25 @Detroit 4:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, June 26 @Detroit 4:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, June 27 @Detroit 10:05 AM FS-W
Friday, June 28 @Houston 5:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, June 29 @Houston 1:10 PM FS-W
Sunday, June 30 @Houston 11:10 AM FS-W

July
Tuesday, July 2 vs. St. Louis 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, July 3 vs. St. Louis 7:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, July 4 vs. St. Louis 6:05 PM FS-W
Friday, July 5 vs. Boston 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, July 6 vs. Boston 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, July 9 @Chi Cubs 5:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, July 10 @Chi Cubs 5:05 PM FS-W
Friday, July 12 @Seattle 7:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, July 13 @Seattle 7:10 PM FS-W
Sunday, July 14 @Seattle 1:10 PM FS-W
Friday, July 19 vs. Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, July 20 vs. Oakland 6:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, July 21 vs. Oakland 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, July 22 vs. Minnesota 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, July 23 vs. Minnesota 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, July 24 vs. Minnesota 12:35 PM FS-W
Thursday, July 25 @Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, July 26 @Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, July 27 @Oakland 12:05 PM FOX
Sunday, July 28 @Oakland 1:05 PM FS-W
Monday, July 29 @Texas 5:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, July 30 @Texas 5:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, July 31 @Texas 5:05 PM FS-W

August
Thursday, August 1 vs. Toronto 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, August 2 vs. Toronto 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, August 3 vs. Toronto 6:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, August 4 vs. Toronto 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, August 5 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, August 6 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, August 7 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, August 9 @Cleveland 4:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, August 10 @Cleveland 4:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, August 11 @Cleveland 10:05 AM FS-W
Monday, August 12 @NY Yankees 4:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, August 13 @NY Yankees 4:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, August 14 @NY Yankees 4:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, August 15 @NY Yankees 10:05 AM FS-W
Friday, August 16 vs. Houston 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, August 17 vs. Houston 6:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, August 18 vs. Houston 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, August 19 vs. Cleveland 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, August 20 vs. Cleveland 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, August 21 vs. Cleveland 4:05 PM FS-W
Friday, August 23 @Seattle 7:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, August 24 @Seattle 6:10 PM FS-W
Sunday, August 25 @Seattle 1:10 PM FS-W
Tuesday, August 27 @Tampa Bay 4:10 PM FS-W
Wednesday, August 28 @Tampa Bay 4:10 PM FS-W
Thursday, August 29 @Tampa Bay 10:10 AM FS-W
Friday, August 30 @Milwaukee 5:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, August 31 @Milwaukee 4:10 PM FS-W

September
Sunday, September 1 @Milwaukee 11:10 AM FS-W
Monday, September 2 vs. Tampa Bay 6:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, September 3 vs. Tampa Bay 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, September 4 vs. Tampa Bay 7:05 PM FS-W
Thursday, September 5 vs. Tampa Bay 7:05 PM FS-W
Friday, September 6 vs. Texas 7:05 PM FS-W
Saturday, September 7 vs. Texas 6:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, September 10 @Toronto 4:07 PM FS-W
Wednesday, September 11 @Toronto 4:07 PM FS-W
Thursday, September 12 @Toronto 4:07 PM FS-W
Friday, September 13 @Houston 5:10 PM FS-W
Saturday, September 14 @Houston 4:10 PM FS-W
Sunday, September 15 @Houston 11:10 AM FS-W
Monday, September 16 @Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, September 17 @Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, September 18 @Oakland 12:35 PM FS-W
Friday, September 20 vs. Seattle 7:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, September 22 vs. Seattle 12:35 PM FS-W
Monday, September 23 vs. Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Tuesday, September 24 vs. Oakland 7:05 PM FS-W
Wednesday, September 25 vs. Oakland 12:35 PM FS-W
Thursday, September 26 @Texas 5:05 PM FS-W
Friday, September 27 @Texas 5:05 PM FS-W
Sunday, September 29 @Texas 12:05 PM FS-W

 

 

 

 

 

Fight of the Year competition for Timothy Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov comes this weekend in Rios-Alvarado II

Posted: March 25th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Boxing, Sports Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado will have their highly-anticipated rematch this weekend, and could be an early contender for Fight of the Year along side Timothy Bradley’s unanimous decision victory over rugged Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16.

In their first fight, Rios scored a seventh-round TKO when he rallied against Alvarado. It was an exciting fight between two guys who just went after each other. The first fight was also a Fight of the Year candidate, losing out to Manny Pacquiao getting knocked out cold in the sixth round by Juan Manuel Marquez.

But during their tele-conference last week, they were still buzzing about Bradley-Provodnikov.

“I was almost jumping on the TV watching that fight,” Rios said.  “It brought back memories.  I was like ‘Damn, they are showing the warrior spirit.’  They were going at it.  Like they said, Bradley came out with a different game plan and he proved that he’s a warrior and a fighter.”

Promoter Bob Arum is in a nice position. He promotes Rios, Alvarado, Bradley and Pacquiao. And he has worked well with Marquez. The talk is there might be a mini-tournament between the top welterweights.

So if Rios wins, he could set up a fight against Manny Pacquiao probably in the fall. Marquez has talked about wanting to fight for another title and that’s where Bradley will come in. Only time will tell if that materialize. If it does, it will be a great situation for Arum and HBO, which last week announced it won’t air any fights from Arum’s rival Golden Boy Promotions.

“Fans aren’t stupid.  They want to see action,” Arum said. ”Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios are action fighters.  Timothy Bradley showed that he is an action fighter.  Juan Manuel Marquez is an action fighter.  Manny Pacquiao is an action fighter.  Ruslan Provodnikov is an action fighter.  They don’t play around.  They don’t dance around.  They fight.  That’s what the public wants to see, so we’ll mix and match as we go along because they are the big fights that people want to see.  That is the way the fighters can be rewarded monetarily.”

 

 

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 conference call, Pac-12 on top

Posted: March 25th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Basketball, NCAA, Sports Blog | Tags:
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A fun thing to do after the Sweet 16 is set is to compare the conferences to see how each of them fared. It would be easy to say the Big Ten is doing the best because it has four teams still alive, the most of any conference, but a better way to judge a conference is how they are doing vs. expectations. And under that microscope, it is the Pac-12 that is having the best postseason so far.

It’s a very simple formula I invented to rival the RPI called the SCEI or Shad’s Conference Excellence Indicator. It’s simple and it’s based on the seeds. Everyone seeded 1, 2, 3 or 4 is supposed to be in the Sweet 16. Everyone else has exceeded expectations. So let’s look at conferences vs. expectations.

This is how many teams each conference should have had in the Sweet 16 based on seeds:

Big Ten: 4 — Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan

Big East: 4 — Louisville, Georgetown, Marquette, Syracuse

Big 12: 2 — Kansas, Kansas State

ACC: 2 — Miami, Duke

Mountain West: 1 — New Mexico

Atlantic 10: 1 — Saint Louis

SEC: 1 — Florida

West Coast Conference: 1 — Gonzaga

This is what actually happened:

Big Ten: 4 — Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan (as they were supposed to)

Big East: 3 — Louisville, Marquette, Syracuse (Georgetown lost)

ACC: 2 — Duke, Miami (as they were supposed to)

Pac-12: 2 — Arizona, Oregon (both exceeding seed expectations)

SEC: 1 — Florida (as they were supposed to)

Big 12: 1 — Kansas (Kansas State lost)

Atlantic 10: 1 — La Salle (making up for Saint Louis loss)

Atlantic Sun: 1 — Florida Gulf Coast (exceeding expectations)

Missouri Valley Conference: 1 — Wichita State (exceeding expectations)

So, using simple math, the conferences vs. expectations shake down like this:

Pac-12: Plus-2

Atlantic Sun: Plus-1

Missouri Valley Conference: Plus-1

Big Ten: Even

Atlantic-10: Even

SEC: Even

ACC: Even

Big East: Negative-1

Big 12: Negative-1

Mountain West: Negative 1

West Coast Conference: Negative-1

So there you have it. The Pac-12 has done the best so far, we’ll see what the next round brings. The elite is supposed to be just 1 and 2 seeds, and six of those eight still remain. But we alredy know the 9-Wichita State vs. 13-La Salle matchup and the 3-Florida vs. 15-FGCU matchups will produce two interlopers. Will any of the other non-1s and 2s break through?

Come back to this blog at mydesert.com each day this week as we work toward Thursday’s return to action.